The detention of the ex-spokesman, who was spotted at the premises of the commission at about 5:30pm this evening, may not be unconnected to the anti-corruption campaign of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration which has intensified with a clampdown on some public officials from the previous administration.

Following his apprehension, three former aides of Mr. Jonathan are now currently in EFCC custody.

It would be recalled, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State for Defence, had been arrested and is still detained by the commission since last week Monday when he voluntarily surrendered himself after staying months away from the country.

Former C.E.O of Death Row Records, Suge Knight has filed a lawsuit against Dr Dre his former partner saying that Dre hired a hitman to kill him.

Suge is also suing Dr Dre for cutting him out of his Beats by Dre deal with Apple. According to Suge, he signed a lifetime deal with Dre, a deal that entitles him to 30% of all Dre’s entertainment earnings. Apple put down $1m for Dre’s Beats and if the contract details are true, Suge is entitled to $300m. Knight says Apple didn’t want its brand associated with him so Dre planned to have him killed so the deal would go through smoothly.

According to the lawsuit, Suge claims that Dre hired someone to kill him at the 1 Oak club in Los Angeles in 2014, during the weekend of the BET Awards. Suge Knight was shot at seven times and survived.

In January 2015, while the movie ‘Straight Outta Compton‘ was being filmed, there was a dispute on the set in Compton, California when Suge Knight suddenly showed up. It led to the death of Terry Carter and Cle “Bone” Sloan being seriously injured. Suge is currently in jail for the murder of Carter even though he claimed he was trying to escape an ambush and it was an accident.

Juventus will turn their attentions to Real defender Pepe if they are unable to sign PSG centre-back Thiago Silva, according to reports in Tuttosport.

The Serie A champions have made the Parisians’ Brazil international their number one priority for the January transfer window, but recognise it may be hard to lure him away from the Parc des Princes in the new year.

Juventus are always attentive to players who are coming to the end of their contracts; one only needs to look at some past purchases to realise this.

After Pirlo (2011), Pogba (2012), Llorente (2013), Coman (2014), Neto, Khedira (2015) and Dani Alves (2016), for next season the bianconeri have already pointed to Axel Witsel of Zenit, who has already rejected the offer to double his salary to remain in Russia and was close to arriving in Turin last summer.

CEO Ivan Gazidis, speaking at Arsenal’s AGM today, has revealed the Gunners are no longer a selling club.

Gazidis admitted financial restrictions had forced Arsenal to sell some of their biggest names in recent years, but that increased revenues now allowed them to keep top names by paying “market value” salaries.

Arsenal have narrowed the gap in recent years in terms of total player salaries compared to the average of other major clubs.

In 2015/16, Arsenal received only £2m from player sales, but Gazidis confirmed that £50m of cash reserves currently being held in the property arm of the company is “fully available” for new player signings.

Other subjects raised included the possibility of safe standing – “Arsenal retain an open mind”, according to chief executive Ivan Gazidis – supporters leaving the Emirates before full-time and the prospect of keeping star men Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

Both are out of contract in 2018 and Gazidis said: “We have a good track record in recent seasons of retaining our key players, developing young players and attracting new players.

“I can’t get into a discussion on individual players but can assure you we will apply the same focus, rigour and diligence to members of our current squad and I think you can see the direction of travel.”

Arsene Wenger can still “take Arsenal forward” and his future will be discussed “at an appropriate time”, chairman Sir Chips Keswick says.

Wenger is inside the final year of his current deal and has repeatedly said he will not consider his future until the end of the season.

The Arsenal boss was given a standing ovation at the club’s Annual General Meeting on Monday when he was presented with a portrait by majority shareholder Stan Kroenke to mark his 20 years in charge.

And when a question from the floor broached the subject of a new contract Keswick, quoted by the Daily Mirror, said: “We all recognise the fantastic contribution Arsene has made to club in the last 20 years.

“We are confident about his ability to take us forward. We will sit down and discuss the future at the appropriate time but our focus is on maintaining the current run and competing for trophies.”

Hull City have appointed Neil McDonald as assistant head coach to Mike Phelan.

McDonald, who assisted Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers and West Ham, was most recently in charge at Blackpool but left the club following their relegation to League Two in May.

He will be in the dugout alongside Phelan for Hull’s EFL Cup match against Bristol City tomorrow.

“I’m pleased to welcome Neil to the Club and look forward to working with him,” Phelan told the club’s official website

“It was important that we added to the backroom staff here and Neil brings a wealth of football experience which will be of huge importance as the season progresses.”

McDonald, 50, has worked his way up the football ladder since becoming player/coach in the latter stages of his career at Preston North End. A spell at former club Bolton Wanderers as assistant was followed by a move to Crystal Palace to become Iain Dowie’s number two.

Carlisle United soon came calling, but McDonald lasted barely a year at Brunton Park. He then saved Swedish club Ostersunds FK from relegation in September 2007, as spells at Lincoln City, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham also came McDonald’s way.

Los Angeles rapper, The Game dropped a new album titled ‘1992′ this month, and this new project has given the rapper his ninth top ten album.

According to Billboard, 1992 debuted at no. 4 on the charts moving 32,000 units with 25,000 being traditional album sales.

This basically means that since The Game dropped his debut album in January 2005, all his albums have made the top 10 which is an incredible feat.

His debut album and most successful album till date, The Documentary, hit no. 1 in 2005, Doctor’s Advocate also got to no. 1 in 2006, 2008’s L.A.X went as high as no. 2, The R.E.D album dropped in 2011 also hit the no. 1 spot, Jesus Piece got to no. 6 in 2012, Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf peaked at no. 7 in 2014 while last year’s duo of The Documentary 2 and The Documentary 2.5 got to no. 2 and no. 6 respectively.

Mr Ibrahim Idris, the Inspector-General of Police, has filed four counts of alleged N2.4bn shipping fraud against Innoson Nigeria Limited before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The charge filed had five other people as defendants. They are Innocent Chukwuma, Charles Chukwu, Maximian Chukwura, Mitsui Osk Lines and Anajekwu Sunny.

The police accused them of conspiring among themselves to fake shipping clearance documents. They were accused of altering the allegedly falsified shipping documents by tendering same as collateral to Guaranty Trust Bank to allegedly obtain a loan of N2.4bn.

The offence according to police was comitted on October 10, 2013 at the Apapa wharf.

The prosecutor for the case, U.S. Nwodo, said the offences are contrary to sections 1(2) (c) and 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation 2004.

When the matter came up on Monday before Justice Saidu, the prosecuting counsel for the police, Mr. J.I. Ajakaiye, informed the court that he had served the charge sheet on all the defendants through their counsel. He said he had served Innoson Nigeria Limited and Chukwuma since October 21, while the 3rd to 6th defendants were only served on Monday morning through their counsel.

Counsel for Innoson Nigeria Limited, Chief George Uwechue (SAN), confirmed he and his client had received the charge sheet but he needed time to study it.

The prosecutor did not oppose the defence application for an adjournment. Justice Saidu adjourned further proceedings in the case till November 25, 2016.‎

October edition of ‘Meets Media’ monthly interactive dinner and networking circle for media practitioners mainly from Nigeria is scheduled to hold on Sunday, October 30th, 2016 at the courtyard, Best Western Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The monthly celebration of media personalities continues this October as we celebrate media mogul, Femi Aderibigbe aka Kwame.

The founder of Nigezie, Prime!, TEN and Orisun TV takes centre stage at this edition as we celebrate his 10 years of founding Nigeria’s premiere 24 hour music channel, Nigezie!

The event’s platform recognizes media personalities that have maintained consistent growth over the years. This October, we celebrate Kwame‘s active service in the broadcast and entertainment industries.

Activities to feature on the three hour event will include overview of DJ Spinall and his recently released album TEN, Xtreem Hype music acts also meeting the media! iShyne, SnS and Nomzky’s introduction and profiling, fireside chat with Kwame. brand exhibitions, among others.

‘Meets Media’ monthly hangout event creates an enabling environment for communication and marketing professionals to interact with leading media organizations on how their respective companies work.

The platform also gives opportunity for Politicians, Actors and Musicians to interact and share information with the media on their respective projects, achievements, ambitions, and other topical issues.

“Investors from all over the world are falling over themselves to come and do business in Nigeria”, said President Muhammadu Buhari in his recent National Day address to Nigerians.

I know this to be true.

Since my arrival in Abuja last month as China’s new Ambassador to Nigeria, I have been flooded with both active and prospective Chinese investors from Beijing and beyond; including the president of China-Africa Development Fund, the Chairman of the Overseas Investment Union of the Investment Association of China, the Chairman of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (CCECC), the CEO of CGCOC Overseas Construction Group (CGCOC), the president of Star Times, the CEO of TIDFORE Group, to name just a few. Also impressive is the enthusiasm and optimism the local Chinese business community have shown when I meet and greet them.

Their core message to me is loud and clear: the potential of a mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Nigeria is enormous and they want to invest more in Nigeria, be it in agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructural development or other fields. The “Made in Nigeria” project will go a long way for Nigeria and will go strong, while an initiative of “Made in Nigeria-with China” might also help.

These initiatives would help in areas like agriculture. Food is vital for human survival. China’s top priority in running the country has always been to produce enough food for its over 1.3 billion people. China has succeeded in feeding about 20 per cent of the world’s population with only around nine per cent of the world’s arable land. As a major agriculture producer, China leads the world in the output of grain, cotton, fruit, vegetable, tea, meat, poultry, egg, and aquatic products. China stands ready to share its advanced and applicable technologies and management expertise with Nigeria without any reservation so as to help the largest country in Africa achieve food self-sufficiency by re-invigorating its agriculture sector.

A CGCOC-invested agriculture and agribusiness park, with a Chinese Government-granted agriculture science and technology demonstration centre will soon be built, and is almost ready to play its due part. We are willing to work with the Nigerian government to provide more effective platform to mobilise more Chinese investment in Nigeria’s Green Alternative.

Then take manufacturing. As the world’s largest manufacturing country, China ranks the first in the world in the output of over 200 industrial products. Nigeria needs manufacturing and industrial development, whereas China has fairly strong capabilities in financing and spare production capacity in these fields. Each has so much to offer to the other side. Cooperation based on such complementary and mutual benefit will strongly boost China’s and Nigeria’s respective development.

China supports the relocation of labour-intensive industries to Nigeria on a priority basis and the localisation of Chinese companies to create more non-agricultural jobs, especially those suited to young people. As a matter of fact, during President Buhari’s successful state visit to China this April, the two sides signed a Memorandum Of Understanding on industry, production capacity and investment cooperation, and a forum for this purpose was also held in Beijing. Next month, the China-Nigeria Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation Forum is going to be held in Lekki Free Zone, Lagos and the forum, hopefully, will be an annual event there around November 20 African Industrialisation Day.

As the saying goes, good company on the road is the shortest cut. China and Nigeria, both large developing countries, regard each other as important strategic cooperation partners. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 45 years ago, particularly in the past 11 years of our strategic partnership, the all-dimensional, wide-ranging and high-quality cooperation between China and Nigeria has been a pacesetter in China-Africa cooperation.

The volume of China’s concessional financial support to Nigeria’s development is close to $4bn. China has become a major source for foreign direct investment in Nigeria. The friendship and cooperation between China and Nigeria have delivered tangible benefits to both countries.

China highly values its relations with Nigeria and is working closely with Nigeria in following through on the outcomes of President Buhari’s state visit to China and those of the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), intended to take China-Nigeria’s strategic partnership to new heights. As a strategic, dependable development partner of Nigeria, China will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria in its quest to fulfil the aspirations of its good people.

As President Xi Jinping said in his address at the Opening Ceremony of the FOCAC Summit last November, “China-Africa relations have today reached a stage of growth unmatched in history. We should scale the heights, look afar and take bold steps. Let us join hands, pool the vision and strengthen 2.4 billion Chinese and Africans and open a new era of China-Africa win-win cooperation and common development.”

Standing at a crucial new start point, the relationship between China and Nigeria is blessed with important development opportunity. Let us take it.

This piece was written by Dr Zhou Pingjian – the new Ambassador of China to Nigeria.

A member of a notorious armed robbery gang that had been a terror to residents of Igando, Lagos state was arrested yesterday while attempting to rape a female victim during an operation.

The suspect, Akeem Folorunsho, and other members of his gang at about 5am, went into 6, Ismail Abass Street and forced their way into one of the apartments. According to one of the tenants, all the robbers had cutlasses and ordered a lady in the apartment to lie down as they had planned to take advantage of her.

However, her father would not let that happen as he began to fight the armed men, while this altercation was going on, the police were contacted.

A resident, who gave his name simply as Chima, said “When the alarm was raised from the apartment that was being attacked, some people summoned courage and went into the apartment, where the father of the house was engaged in a fight with the robbers. One of the robbers was apprehended, while the other fled on noticing that residents were aware of their presence.”

The apprehended suspect, would have been killed by the mob if the police didn’t intervene.

Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Dolapo Badmus, confirmed the incident, said: “It took reinforcement for police to rescue the robbery suspect, one Akeem Folorunso. He was taken for treatment and Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, has directed that he should be transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, while effort is on to track his accomplices.”

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Lloris said: “At the moment I just think about the close future, the next game and I repeat that I feel very pleased to be a Spurs player and to be the skipper too.

“”I feel very involved and I try to do my best for my team and my club. I don’t think at all about my future. I’m under contract too and there’s no rush to think about that

“I’m just doing my job as I’ve done now for more than 10 years. I always try to help my team, try to be decisive and when it’s the case, of course the feeling is good. The most important thing for me is my team and like all my teammates I’m disappointed because we expected more from this game [against Bournemouth].”

Gianfranco Zola has been tipped to manage Nottingham Forest should the Championship club move to replace Philippe Montanier.

According to the Sun on Sunday, former Watford and West Ham boss Zola is currently out of work and is reportedly an acquaintance of Forest chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi.

Forest sit 19th in the Championship table after their 2-1 home defeat to Cardiff City on Saturday.

Zola was said to be in the frame for the Forest manager’s job when Billy Davies was sacked in 2014, before Stuart Pearce was appointed in the hot seat, and the ex-Napoli, Parma and Chelsea forward was among the bookies’ favourites to replace Dougie Freedman in the summer before Montanier arrived.

Montanier, who signed a two-year deal with the club at the end of June, has a record of six wins, three draws and eight defeats in his first 17 games in charge at the City Ground.

The Reds made a promising start to the season under the Frenchman, winning five of their opening seven matches, but they have claimed victory in just one of their last 10 games.

Thiago Silva has confirmed he wants to sign a contract extension with PSG amid rumours of a move to Juventus.

Speaking to reporters at the weekend, he said: “We started talking last year, at the end of the season, and after it stopped, I do not know why.

“But I’m happy here, I want to stay, extend my contract. We need to talk with the president to know what we will do in the future.”

Silva’s current PSG contract is set to expire next summer but will renew automatically for another year if Unai Emery’s men qualify for the Champions League.

Since returning to action after a lengthy layoff with a hip injury suffered in preseason, Silva has been recalled to the Brazil national team by new coach Tite after an absence of over a year following a fall-out with former boss Dunga.

Nollywood actor, John Okafor, better known as Mr Ibu, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s action against the Nigerian judiciary as regards to the allegations of corruption and judicial misconduct leveled against some judges.

The comic actor, who appeared to have showed 100 per cent of his support to the recent raid on some judges, said “since Nigerian Judiciary failed to jail Buhari; let Buhari jail them.”

The other judges, whose homes were raided and arrested are Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court Abuja, Kabir Auta of the Kano High Court, Muazu Pindiga of Gombe High Court, Mohammed Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin, and the Chief Judge of Enugu State, I. A. Umezulike.

However, Mr Ibu took to his Facebook account to state his opinion on the matter.

He said: “I will support Buhari for his action against Nigeria Judiciary. when issue of Buhari’s certificate came up, No judge was serious to prosecute Buhari, when IPOB members were killed, no judge talked about it, when Nnamdi KANU was guiltless, no judge talked about it, When Dasuki was granted Bail even in ECOWAS Court, no Judge talked about it, when Shitte Muslims were killed in Kaduna, no judge talked about it, what about the killings in Nimbo and Agatu? No judge talked about it.

“Margaret was killed in kano while preaching, no judge talked about it, all the arrested Boko Haram members where released by Buhari, No judge talked about it.

“2015 general election? No judge talked about it.

“As Nigerian Judiciary failed to jail Buhari; let Buhari jail them, I give him my 100% Support on this one.”